Social protection of workers in non-standard forms of employment in Slovenia

Abstract

The article deals with legal position of individuals who work in various nonstandard forms of employment in Slovenia. The author analyses labour law protection and social position of workers, carrying out the work in forms of temporary work (fixed-term employment, temporary and occasional work of students and retired people), in employment relationships with more than two parties (temporary agency work), and also the position of false self-employed and economically dependent persons. It is evident that these forms of work are not precarious on their own, since Slovenian legislation provides the workers with rather proper protection during the period, in which they work, and moreover, these workers are also entitled to rights from social insurance schemes (in narrower of broader scope). The situation is different in cases of abuse of these forms of work and in cases of false self-employed persons and other disguised employees, when workers are only entitled to a limited scope of rights in spite of working in relationships with elements of a standard employment relationship. In order to prevent these cases, not only additional legislation solutions and labour market measures are needed, but labour inspection will also have to be increased and furthermore, the awareness of employers and the society regarding long-term impacts of use of such non-standard forms of work will have to be raised.